In this episode of the Operation Self Reset podcast, Jake is talking with Tom Henschel from The Look and Sound of Leadership podcast.

Tom grew up in Illinois and decided as a child he wanted to be an actor. He went to the Julliard School of acting when it was still new, and got into acting. He worked as an actor for years and loved it. But when he turned forty, suddenly the jobs started drying up. He was having a hard time getting parts and was unable to support his family as he had been doing for years. He had a lot of support from his wife and family, but Tom wasn’t sure what his next career move should be.

Tom decided to go into teaching, which he had done before. He began teaching drama at a university. But it wasn’t long before he realized that his backup plan wasn’t what he wanted to do either. When he realized this, he began to panic. What do you do when your backup plan doesn’t work out?

Someone else mentioned the idea of corporate training to Tom. He wasn’t in the business world, so this idea had never occurred to him. He had always loved the fact that he didn’t work in a corporate environment, so he wasn’t sure at first that this job would be a good match for him either, but he decided to give it a try. He knew how to direct people and knew how to coach people to bring out charisma, so he used these skills he’d developed in acting to help businesspeople bring out the best in themselves.

Are you feeling stuck in your career path or other aspects of your life? Tom reminds us that even the wrong paths in life teach us valuable skills or new things about ourselves. It’s not about finding the right path the first time, it’s about learning and growing and turning yourself around again when things don’t work out.

Featured Quote of the Day
“If you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right.” – Sent in by Kate from Clearwater, Florida.

Here’s what Jake and Tom talked about in this episode:

• Jumping into a new career with no formal training
• Doing your best, even if the road leads to a dead end
• Becoming an effective leader in any position
• How to act like a leader

Mentioned in This Episode
• Essential Communications

Before You Go

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Knowing how to act as a leader can help you in any situation, even if you don’t work as a manager in your career. Don’t be afraid to try something new and learn leadership skills that can help you act your way to success.